Monthly Archives: April 2012

Wow, what a one-pot-wonder! This recipe is full of flavour, what a way to kickstart the week! I’ve tried my hand at making paella before, but it was less than amazing. I wanted to try again because I’m always drawn to the lively colours, and it’s rice – I love rice! Looking back, my first paella fail was probably down to me over-complicating it, because tonight this was so easy and quick to make!

Here’s the recipe, it’s vegan and gluten free!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

160g spiced tofu, chopped (I used this one by Cauldron and it was fantastic)

Add the saffron to the hot vegetable stock in a jug or a bowl and leave to infuse

In a large deep pan, heat the oil over medium/high heat

Add the tofu, mushrooms, carrot, celery, courgette and green peppers and heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring and shaking every so often as it simmers

Stir in the garlic and chilli and leave for about 10 seconds

Add the stock (with saffron) and keep the heat high, bringing it to the boil

Stir in the paprika and cayenne

Once boiling, stir in the rice, cover and keep on a medium heat to a fast simmer for 18 minutes until the rice is tender and almost all of the water has been absorbed (don’t poke about with it during this time or the rice will release it’s starch and you’ll end up with risotto!)

Open the lid, put the peas evenly on top of the paella, then re-cover and allow them to steam for 1-2 minutes

Take off the heat, stir in the lime juice and spring onions, and serve!

The above quantities came out with 3 generous portions. Simple! This is definitely my new favourite one-pot-wonder, it even had B’s seal of approval (and he’s a proper carnivore!). You could change up the vegetables and use whatever you fancy or whatever you have to hand – throw in some tomatoes, maybe some green beans – I’d definitely use the Cauldron tofu again, it’s marinated and lightly spiced so goes really well in this dish. Happy Meatless Monday everyone!